ROOM 101 #6 – Starting Christmas Too Early

We all know the feeling. Those things you just cannot stand. They keep you awake at night. They make your skin crawl. They awake a hatred within you that you haven’t known since the checkout machine said there was an unexpected item in the baggage area. Go on, put it in Room 101.

Nowadays our expectations of Christmas are built up over such a long period of time, the day itself cannot possibly live up to the ever-expanding snowball of excitement. All the hype of three long months is over – in just one day.

The novelty of Christmas is wearing thin. As a child, I simply remember counting down the days on my chocolate advent calendar. Being so excited to prepare the food for Santa and Rudolf, always wondering how he was able to manoeuvre his sleigh after having drunk so much red wine…

“All the hype of three long months is over – in just one day”

Now, it’s a different story. It’s the 1st of November and I’m thinking about when it’s appropriate to make my next coffee, to get me through this next piece of coursework, without having a major caffeine burn-out. I need a break.

I suddenly remember it’s my Nan’s birthday in a few days and head to the shops. It takes me a good fifteen minutes to even catch a glimpse of a birthday card, as apparently Clinton’s have forgotten that people still have birthdays! I then try and find a suitable kind of jumper that will keep her warm in this supposedly already ‘snowy’ weather. Cartooned Christmas jumpers blind my eyes. For God’s sake! I finally find an appropriate scarf, leaving the shopping centre humming ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’.

Please no. We have two months to go! Us students have to struggle through the rest of this term, tackling about ten different deadlines before the month of December even begins. That’s ages away! (So we hope anyway.)

“Retailers you are ruining Christmas”

Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas just as much as the next person. It’s my favourite time of year. Yet what should be a month’s countdown is dragged out for almost a three month period. Retailers, you are ruining Christmas! By the time it’s appropriate to actually start celebrating, I am totally fed up!

The ‘prestigious’ John Lewis Christmas advert, for example, was released this year on the 5th of November. Honestly, I love these adverts. But there’s only so many times I can get emotional about the Old Man tearing up through the telescope. By the time Christmas Day arises, I will have seen it a million times! WHY don’t you release it when Christmas day is actually in sight, and when you can legitimately really tug at the heartstrings? John Lewis, you’re boring your ‘customers’ already and it’s only November.

I assure you I am no Scrooge, I love the cheesy Christmas songs and the awful Christmas jumpers, but not when it’s over 40 days till the big day. You’re making me hate my favourite holiday. November is a grey enough month as it is, without the false advertising of Christmas being ‘just round the corner’ – stop getting my hopes up!

Jemma Holmes

Image by Kristof on Flickr

Do baked beans make you cringe? Are slow walkers your living hell? Send your own Room 101 to [email protected]